EP. S2E64 — Chucky and the Age of TV Terror w/ Mano Agapion & Betsy Sodaro

Ashley Ray [00:00:04] What is a horror character from a movie that you think deserves a TV show like Chucky?

Betsy Sodaro [00:00:10] Leprechaun!

Ashley Ray [00:00:10] I literally was going to say Leprechaun.

Betsy Sodaro [00:00:12] Dude, what if it was like Leprechaun meets Poker Face essentially? Leprechaun is cruising around the United States.

Ashley Ray [00:00:19] Doing murders.

Betsy Sodaro [00:00:20] Lands in these little situations that he then is like, “I’m going to kill you all.”

Ashley Ray [00:00:36] Welcome to TV, I Say with Ashley Ray. Your go-to podcast for discovering what to watch on TV and getting behind the scenes insights from the people who make the shows you love. You just heard a little tease of my chat with Mano Agapion and Betsy Sodaro, two people who I think are absolutely hilarious from so many shows you know and love. I don’t even know where to begin because, look, we talk about all of them. We talk about Duncanville in this episode and Chucky. It’s spooky season, so you know we had to come with the spooky TV suggestions. And we got a lot of them. So, let’s get into it. Enjoy my interview with Mano Agapion and Betsy Sodaro. Mano Agapion and Betsy Sodaro, welcome to TV Club. I am so excited to have the both of you here. I think you’re both so funny, talented, amazing voices in animation, just… Oh my goodness, you’re two of my favorites.

Betsy Sodaro [00:01:40] This is too nice. I thought we were going to get roasted on this.

Ashley Ray [00:01:43] Oh, yeah. TV, I Say is all about the roasts. So, I know your podcast is already out. Season Two of 2 Spooky 2 Handle. Tell us about it.

Mano Agapion [00:02:01] We’re very excited. Last year we got to do it. It was so fun and dumb. And this year, actually, Betsy had the really good idea of, like… Because we’ve done improvised spooky movies for years and years and years. We did it with our former Spooky podcast, and now we were like, “Let’s bring that back and use production magic to basically give Earwolf all the hard work of producing and adding the sound effects and music, etc.” So, we’re really excited.

Betsy Sodaro [00:02:29] All month we’ve improvised four very, very different spooky movies.

Mano Agapion [00:02:36] Yeah. And we got the names from people. We were asking. We were like, “Give us your spooky movie names of movies that don’t exist.” And so, we use those to inspire ourselves. We got a bunch of, you know, amazing comedians, like Gabrus, Nicole Byer, etc.

Betsy Sodaro [00:02:51] Lauren Lapkus.

Mano Agapion [00:02:53] Oscar Montoya, Payam Banifaz, Mary Holland…

Ashley Ray [00:02:54] This is all of the LA improv famous people you want to have–the best of the best.

Betsy Sodaro [00:03:05] Star-studded.

Mano Agapion [00:03:07] It’s fucking star-studded, Ashley. I’m not going to lie to you. So, yeah, we’re really excited. The first episode is out, and it’s called Taco Hell. So, I mean, get into it.

Ashley Ray [00:03:20] I love tacos–hate hell. This sounds very spooky.

Betsy Sodaro [00:03:23] What’s the hottest sauce you get for your tacos?

Ashley Ray [00:03:32] I’m a baby.

Betsy Sodaro [00:03:33] Okay. No hell.

Ashley Ray [00:03:35] No hell. I don’t really like spicy. Like, I asked my partner to get me chicken strips, and he came back with, like, the Nashville hot chicken strips. And I was like, “Why are you doing this to me?”

Betsy Sodaro [00:03:46] “Why would you dare do this to me?”

Ashley Ray [00:03:47] And he was like, “Who wants regular chicken strips? Are you a child?” And I’m like, “Yes, I wanted regular, plain chicken strips.”

Mano Agapion [00:03:54] I’m the same. I just think mild is better. And when something is so spicy, I rarely get more flavor from it. I get less flavor.

Betsy Sodaro [00:04:03] When it’s when it’s there just to mess your mouth up, that’s no fun.

Ashley Ray [00:04:10] Yes. I don’t need that. I don’t need that.

Mano Agapion [00:04:12] It’s not good.

Betsy Sodaro [00:04:14] I want to enjoy my chicken.

Mano Agapion [00:04:16] And a spicy butthole… That’s the real Taco Hell.

Betsy Sodaro [00:04:19] That sucks.

Ashley Ray [00:04:22] If I get something and they make it too spicy, I’m like, “You ruined my food. I can’t eat this. I just… I won’t.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:04:27] I don’t know if your bodies do this, but as soon as I take that first bite, my fucking guts are like, “Get ready. I’m going to shoot this out soon and ruin your night.”

Ashley Ray [00:04:41] And then I’m going to have heartburn all night. I’m going to have to get Tums.

Mano Agapion [00:04:45] And then I have to tell my husband, “My butthole is spicy. You can’t go in there. It’s not good.” That’s sad, y’all. I just want you all to know that’s sad–when you want to do sex and your butthole is a spicy cave. It’s bad.

Betsy Sodaro [00:05:02] I know, but I’m glad though you’re talking about it. You gotta let him know.

Mano Agapion [00:05:10] I’m de-stigmatizing.

Ashley Ray [00:05:14] So you two are working on this spooky, spooky podcast. Are you fans of… Obviously everybody talks about horror movies. Horror movies are okay. But are you fans of spookier television?

Betsy Sodaro & Mano Agapion [00:05:26] Yeah!

Betsy Sodaro [00:05:32] I think so. Yeah.

Mano Agapion [00:05:33] We love it. I follow you on… I’m just gonna call it “Twitter.”

Ashley Ray [00:05:39] We say “Twitter” here.

Mano Agapion [00:05:40] But I know you love American Horror Story, and our opinions align on Roanoke.

Ashley Ray [00:05:45] Okay, that’s what I wanted to talk about because there is a new season of American Horror Story that has premiered.

Betsy Sodaro [00:05:52] Now, we haven’t seen it yet.

Ashley Ray [00:05:54] Featuring Kim Kardashian.

Mano Agapion [00:05:58] She’s awful. I’m so sorry, but she’s awful.

Betsy Sodaro [00:06:01] No shit.

Ashley Ray [00:06:02] Like, there’s only, I think, at this point one episode out that I’ve seen, and it was so boring and unscary that, like, 14 minutes in, I just wanted to give up. I just did not care. It’s, like, Emma Roberts… And Kim was the best part of it, and she was not good. And I think that tells you how bad it is.

Mano Agapion [00:06:22] She was not good.

Betsy Sodaro [00:06:23] Yeah, it’s really kind of gotten to that the last couple of seasons where it’s like, “I’m going to watch. I’m going to watch.” And then I get, like, four episodes in, and I’m like, “This sucks, dude!”

Ashley Ray [00:06:34] Yeah. And it’s like, “Why did I do this?” Did you watch last season, 1984? Or it was the American Horror Story New York.

Mano Agapion [00:06:44] The Camp one?

Betsy Sodaro [00:06:46] The New York one. Jeff Hiller’s in it and plays a serial killer.

Mano Agapion [00:06:52] Love Jeff Hiller. Genius.

Ashley Ray [00:06:54] And it’s basically the season that’s like, “Maybe the biggest horror is homophobia…”

Betsy Sodaro [00:07:00] Oh, one of those. Yeah. I feel like I started the first episode, and I was like, “I don’t think I can do this.” It bums me out because some seasons are very fun.

Ashley Ray [00:07:12] Yes. Very good. I never did the camp season, 1984. That one I tried. I got bored.

Mano Agapion [00:07:16] We watched some of that.

Betsy Sodaro [00:07:17] Yeah, we watched a chunk. But once again, it just got, I think, kind of too boring.

Mano Agapion [00:07:22] Yeah it was so hit or miss. They couldn’t decide if they were making a parody of Jason slashers or if they were doing something new. I think it just got lost in the sauce. And then there was, like, a time continuum. And I mean, if there’s a time continuum, it doesn’t excuse for the writers to not give a fuck.

Betsy Sodaro [00:07:44] “Let’s keep it simple. Let’s do a fun, spooky camp slasher season.” But it is like, “No, we have to jump all around and reopen the camp.” Let’s just make it simple, man.

Ashley Ray [00:08:01] Those are the best seasons. Make it simple. You know? Give me a coven. Easy.

Betsy Sodaro [00:08:06] Give me coven. That’s my favorite season. I think I might rewatch that this year.

Ashley Ray [00:08:12] Both seasons of Coven–when they did The Coven and then they did Coven: End of the World or whatever–both those were so good.

Betsy Sodaro [00:08:20] We watched that one.

Mano Agapion [00:08:21] Armageddon?

Ashley Ray [00:08:23] Coven: Armageddon or whatever it was called.

Betsy Sodaro [00:08:28] We watched that one.

Mano Agapion [00:08:28] That one was only okay for me.

Ashley Ray [00:08:30] It didn’t make a lot of sense, but it was just like, “You know, we’re getting the gang back together. Everyone is here.” For some reason, Evan Peters all of a sudden played a tech millionaire, even though previously he was a zombie who killed his weird incest mom. And they’re like, “Let’s just give him a new character.”

Mano Agapion [00:08:48] Evan Peters!

Betsy Sodaro [00:08:49] I remember the first episode of the Armageddon one feeling too real. You know, just being like, “Oh, this is really hard to watch.”

Mano Agapion [00:09:00] Running to an airport and, like, telling poor people to fuck off. I was like,

Betsy Sodaro [00:09:07] Did you watch…? I guess it was a little spooky but more kind of sci-fi. Station 11?

Ashley Ray [00:09:14] Yes.

Betsy Sodaro [00:09:14] Did you watch that?

Ashley Ray [00:09:15] Oh, I watched Station 11 and…

Betsy Sodaro [00:09:17] It was…

Ashley Ray [00:09:18] Too real. I was like, “This is exactly how it all happened.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:09:21] Because it also was like we were in pandemic. And it was like, “Wait, this is almost what we just went through.” We watched the first episode, and it took us a while to be like, “Should we jump back in?” And I’m glad we did because I enjoyed it. But, like, that first episode really messed me up.

Ashley Ray [00:09:43] Me too. The second the virus hits, and the sister calls from the hospital and is like, “You need to go somewhere safe.” And she, like, immediately dies. Planes start crashing and falling from the sky. I was just like, “Oh, I’m terrified this is what’s going to happen.” That was a horror watch. And then you keep going with the show and you’re like, “Oh, actually, this is just about how, like, people will love theatre, even in an apocalypse. Theatre kids are going to be theatre kids.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:10:08] They want to start a theatre troupe, and that’s it.

Mano Agapion [00:10:11] I missed it, but I want to watch it. I feel like now that I’m out of the pandemic, I can get in the headspace to watch it.

Ashley Ray [00:10:17] Yeah, and it is good. And it is truly just like, “In the future, after whatever apocalyptic event we all survive, people will just be performing episodes of the Golden Girls.” And I love that.

Betsy Sodaro [00:10:29] I’m in. I’m in.

Mano Agapion [00:10:32] The one where they get arrested for being sex workers. Oh, boy. Can we talk about the pilot of Chernobyl?

Ashley Ray [00:10:39] Yes.

Betsy Sodaro [00:10:41] That fucked me up.

Ashley Ray [00:10:43] Chernobyl was, like, appointment television viewing. Every week, I was just having a heart attack, even though I’m like, “This is a real event and I’ve read history and I know what happens.” I still was just like, “Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe it.”

Mano Agapion [00:10:56] The way it, like, opens on the control room of them trying to be like, “I’ll never forget it.” And I also, like, didn’t have a good time watching it.

Betsy Sodaro [00:11:04] No, no, no.

Mano Agapion [00:11:05] But also, I was like, “This is a masterpiece.”

Ashley Ray [00:11:07] Yeah, but totally terrifying.

Betsy Sodaro [00:11:08] When he’s in that meeting and just starts, like, puking up blood.

Ashley Ray [00:11:13] Yes! Oh, my gosh.

Betsy Sodaro [00:11:15] Ooh, that one. I couldn’t finish it because it fucked me up so bad. I watched five episodes.

Ashley Ray [00:11:23] And it just gets scarier when they, like, show what happened to all the animals in the area. And there’s some, like, person milking a cow, and then suddenly they’re like, “Why is my cow’s milk bloody?” And it’s like, “Because of the radiation.”

Mano Agapion [00:11:35] And that creepy scene where, like, the children are just dancing under the uranium snow.

Ashley Ray [00:11:41] And everybody’s, like, watching, and they’re like, “This is so fun!” And it’s just like, “Run!”

Betsy Sodaro [00:11:47] That, like, made my stomach churn, Mano. Thanks a lot.

Ashley Ray [00:11:52] I’m just like, “What are you doing? Why would you think, ‘This is so beautiful, family–let’s stand on this bridge and watch all the uranium fall on us”? You know what it is. You know it’s a nuclear power plant. I do want to know what you think the scariest season of American Horror Story is. There was some Twitter debate around this recently. I came out fiercely for Roanoke. I think Roanoke.

Betsy Sodaro [00:12:32] I loved Roanoke. I thought it was so cleverly done. “And let’s do a show about the hauntings.” I love those haunted shows. I love anything where it’s like, “Here’s my haunted ghost story.” I love those shows. I thought that was a blast.

Mano Agapion [00:12:52] Yes, I agree. That’s how you do a time continuum.

Ashley Ray [00:12:55] Yes. That’s how you do it if you want to play with us and go, “Who’s going to survive?” They nailed it. It was actually terrifying with, like, the weird incest family that lived on a farm or whatever. They were so scary. It was the first time I was watching American Horror Story. I was like, “Oh, this is actual terror.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:13:11] Yeah.

Mano Agapion [00:13:13] I like that.

Betsy Sodaro [00:13:13] Coven is more kind of delightful fun.

Ashley Ray [00:13:18] It’s campy. It’s fun. It’s not really scary.

Mano Agapion [00:13:20] I thought asylum was pretty scary for me. I mean, like, I really enjoyed Asylum, except for the aliens.

Ashley Ray [00:13:28] I was going to say it was scary and cool until they were like, “Ooh. We only have one episode left? How are we going to clear this up? Aliens.”

Mano Agapion [00:13:37] And they just didn’t even answer the aliens one bit. They have Evan Peters just wave hi to an alien and then blackout. End of season.

Ashley Ray [00:13:48] And it’s just all these questions. And they’re like, “Don’t worry about it. Aliens.”

Mano Agapion [00:13:52] Because the scary part was being like, “You’re a homo. You’re a crazy. You fucking gay, crazy homo. Go to the asylum!”

Betsy Sodaro [00:13:59] “We’re going to strap you into a bed and make you look at dicks. And you don’t even like them.” When we were watching Asylum, Mano, I got really sick.”

Mano Agapion [00:14:12] Is that when that happened?

Betsy Sodaro [00:14:13] We were watching Asylum, I had this fever for a while, and I got very sick. Mano saved me. And I woke up in a hospital. And I was like, “It’s Asylum!” I was like, “What a nightmare. What a nightmare–just waking up strapped to bed with a bunch of people around you being like, ‘Don’t move. We don’t know what’s going on,’ or whatever.” And then it happened, and I was like, “Oh no!”

Ashley Ray [00:14:44] “Asylum is real! Ryan Murphy knows everything!”

Mano Agapion [00:14:49] I love that you remember that because to me, like, obviously I don’t remember those two events colliding. But of course, you woke up in a hospital bed…

Betsy Sodaro [00:14:57] Yeah. I also befriended a woman who said she was Anne Frank when I was in the hospital.

Mano Agapion [00:15:02] That happens all the time.

Ashley Ray [00:15:05] That happens all the time?

Mano Agapion [00:15:06] Can I say that one time when I… I think I was getting some, like, surgery–some small thing. I was getting, like, a skin tag removed. Sexy.

Betsy Sodaro [00:15:17] Nasty, Mano. So gross. My body has nothing wrong with it.

Mano Agapion [00:15:23] I had someone tell me they were a member of KC and The Sunshine Band.

Betsy Sodaro [00:15:28] And you don’t believe them one bit?

Mano Agapion [00:15:30] I don’t think I did. I don’t think so.

Ashley Ray [00:15:35] I did intensive outpatient therapy. And there was a girl there who said she did a voice on Adventure Time. And she was like, “I’m the voice of Princess Bubblegum.” And I was like, “I just don’t believe you.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:15:48] You gotta prove it then. If you’re the voice of something, just prove it.

Ashley Ray [00:15:53] “So where’s the voice? Do the voice.” And she couldn’t do it. She never did. We were never in group therapy, and she, like, dropped it. So, I just don’t believe.

Betsy Sodaro [00:16:05] What a funny thing to say.

Ashley Ray [00:16:10] “As soon as we get our lunch break and I get my phone back, I’m looking on IMDb, and I’m going to see.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:16:16] “You cannot hide from it. It’s a lie you cannot tell.”

Ashley Ray [00:16:19] I mean, Betsy, you do a lot of voice work. Have you ever tried to, like, lie and be like, “Oh, actually, you can hear me in The Simpsons.”?

Betsy Sodaro [00:16:28] No. But, you know, there are moments where sometimes, like, if somebody is like, “Are you from something or whatever?” I kind of want to be like, “No, I’m not. You’re thinking of somebody else.” But I feel my voice is always the giveaway.

Ashley Ray [00:16:46] It’s very distinct.

Betsy Sodaro [00:16:47] Okay. I also look like exactly so many of the characters I play. It’s pretty impossible.

Mano Agapion [00:16:57] Betsy is very humble. I just want to say Betsy is incredibly humble about the work she does. Like, Betsy, you do so many voices sometimes. I feel like one time someone was like, “Are you this?” And then you said no, sheerly forgetting.

Ashley Ray [00:17:11] “Oh, I don’t even remember.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:17:13] Yeah.

Mano Agapion [00:17:13] And then you were like, “Oh, shit. I absolutely am that anthropomorphic monkey I forgot I played.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:17:20] Oh, yeah. I went in for a day, you know?

Mano Agapion [00:17:25] And I guess with animation, too, sometimes you can record something, and it comes out two years later.

Ashley Ray [00:17:30] Yeah. Like, I worked on, like, the… They’re turning Sausage Party into a TV show, and I think we did it, like, a year and a half ago. And it’s not going to be out until 2025. That’s how it goes in animation.

Mano Agapion [00:17:42] Yeah.

Betsy Sodaro [00:17:42] They also sometimes will call a show a completely different name. Mano, that happened with your husband.

Mano Agapion [00:17:52] Yes!

Betsy Sodaro [00:17:54] I’m on a show. I’m on Frog and Toad on Apple TV. And Mano’s husband works for Apple, and he’s like, “I’m in a meeting!” And they, like, mentioned you and the show Frog and Toad. And I was like, “I don’t know what you’re fucking talking about, man.” And then I IMDb’d Frog and Toad, and then I was like, “Oh, Squirrel! I play Squirrel!” And every recording was under a completely different name of the show. I had no clue.

Ashley Ray [00:18:24] The Frog and Toad fans–they are vicious. They’re looking for leaks all the time. So, I’m not surprised that they had to hide things.

Betsy Sodaro [00:18:33] I used to work at Sony, who has Spider-Man stuff. And I remember all of the fun… Or I don’t, actually. But I remember there being so many funny secret names for Spider-Man that it was like, “So nobody can give leaks or whatever.”

Mano Agapion [00:18:52] Ashley, I don’t know if this is the time, but have you seen the Chucky TV show because we have to talk about it?

Betsy Sodaro [00:18:57] Mano, this is the time.

Ashley Ray [00:19:01] They sent me your watchlist. Let’s talk about Chucky.

Mano Agapion [00:19:05] Oh, my God. Crazy.

Ashley Ray [00:19:08] Look, I had no hopes for this show. When I heard it was being made–when I heard it was announced–I was like, “Chucky TV show? We’ll see. We’ll see.” I am obsessed with it. I love it. I cannot wait for the new season.

Betsy Sodaro [00:19:21] I’m almost done with Season Two. It’s so much fun.

Ashley Ray [00:19:24] It’s so fun.

Mano Agapion [00:19:26] It knows what it is at all times. There are some episodes… Oh, my God. In Season Two, Episode Four–no spoilers–but be prepared for the craziest episode of television.

Betsy Sodaro [00:19:35] Really wild.

Mano Agapion [00:19:37] Unbelievably off the rails. But in a weird way, they never pretend it’s on the rails if that makes sense.

Ashley Ray [00:19:44] Yeah, that’s the best part of the tone is that they never try to approach this like, “We’re making a serious show about Chucky.” It is truly just like, “We understand this is camp. We’re going to just be batshit with it.” And it makes the best television. And I don’t know why everyone isn’t talking about it. I think because it’s, like, hard to find. 85 five. It’s Syfy, which… Who has Syfy?

Mano Agapion [00:20:11] What about Peacock?

Ashley Ray [00:20:11] Oh right. It’s also on Peacock. I watch it on Hulu through Syfy or something because I have Hulu cable–live TV. But, right, it is on Peacock. But I feel like they don’t do the episodes as they air.

Mano Agapion [00:20:25] Right. It was on late. It’s been very late on Peacock.

Betsy Sodaro [00:20:28] Right.

Ashley Ray [00:20:29] Peacock, get it together.

Mano Agapion [00:20:31] Make it clear.

Ashley Ray [00:20:34] I feel like Peacock really had a lead when it came to funny shows and horror stuff, and then they just didn’t really do a lot of great promotion. They’ve really lost that lead. They had Poker Face; they were coming out the gate strong.

Betsy Sodaro [00:20:45] Poker Face was awesome.

Ashley Ray [00:20:46] So good. Killing It. So good. And then all of a sudden, everyone’s like, “Oh, right. Peacock. I forgot.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:20:54] There’s too many things happening right now. There’s so many streamers, where it’s like, “Wait, which one is this one?”

Mano Agapion [00:21:03] So we’ve all seen Season One. Okay. Season One is so fun and crazy. I’m in the middle of Season Two, and I just… In Season One, the way in which they skirt around the reality of people dying? Almost impressive.

Betsy Sodaro [00:21:20] I think that in itself is an artform.

Mano Agapion [00:21:23] Right, no adults are affected really. Like, it’s a world where no adults are really emotionally affected.

Betsy Sodaro [00:21:30] And adults are dying left and right!

Ashley Ray [00:21:31] Just dying, and it’s like, “That’s fine.” It’s amazing.

Betsy Sodaro [00:21:34] Yeah. Yep. Okay. I guess she just really jumped out of a window hard and splattered on her own car. Like, what?

Ashley Ray [00:21:45] The name of that episode is Cape Queer.

Mano Agapion [00:21:47] Yeah!

Ashley Ray [00:21:49] The name–everything about the show–is just on point. Perfectly done.

Betsy Sodaro [00:21:53] Even just the little intro that is different every single time where it’s different objects that then spell out “Chucky.” It is such a rad show. And we got Jennifer Tilly going nuts.

Ashley Ray [00:22:10] We got Jennifer Tilly back. Tiffany the doll is also back, obviously.

Betsy Sodaro [00:22:15] Yeah.

Mano Agapion [00:22:16] Of course. And the effort to which they’ve gone to… Because, you know, I mean, we know how crazy the movie canon is. The effort to which they’ve said, “None of these movies were a mistake. And we will, in fact, include Jennifer Tilly as Jennifer Tilly in the canon, in the fabric of this franchise.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:22:35] It’s incredible how they were like, “Every single movie counts in this show.”

Ashley Ray [00:22:43] Which is so smart because when they tried to make the Scream TV show, they didn’t want to include the Scream movies.

Betsy Sodaro [00:22:49] Actually, I really enjoyed that. I really enjoyed that show.

Mano Agapion [00:22:54] I didn’t watch it as much as Betsy.

Ashley Ray [00:22:57] I did, I think, half of the first season.

Betsy Sodaro [00:23:01] That’s absolutely fair. For some reason I was like, “This show is a blast!” I really enjoyed it.

Ashley Ray [00:23:08] But I just was like, “Why are they making it so disconnected from the movies?” And I think it was MTV, right?

Betsy Sodaro [00:23:14] Yes, it was MTV. A whole different mask. All of that where it’s like, “What?”

Ashley Ray [00:23:20] Where it was like, “Just make something new. Did you just want the Scream name?” What is a horror character from a movie that you think deserves a TV show like Chucky?

Betsy Sodaro [00:23:29] Leprechaun!

Ashley Ray [00:23:30] I literally was going to say Leprechaun.

Betsy Sodaro [00:23:32] Dude, what if it was, like, Leprechaun and meets Poker Face, essentially where, like, Leprechaun is cruising around the United States.

Ashley Ray [00:23:41] Doing murders.

Betsy Sodaro [00:23:41] And lands in these little situations that he then is like, “I’m going to kill you all.”

Mano Agapion [00:23:48] I love this pitch.

Ashley Ray [00:23:49] I love this.

Betsy Sodaro [00:23:50] Let’s take it…

Mano Agapion [00:23:51] And then there’s a B-story of the Lucky Charms he leaves behind. So, there’s, like, someone trying to solve it.

Ashley Ray [00:24:04] And people don’t believe him.

Mano Agapion [00:24:06] “You fucking crazy bastard. That’s cereal, you idiot.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:24:09] Y’all, I have chills. I think we need to make this show. Everybody listening, it’s ours. Don’t you fucking try to touch it, or we’ll sue you.

Mano Agapion [00:24:22] Get a WGA-registered copy.

Ashley Ray [00:24:24] I’m on the site right now, putting it in. The strike is over. Let’s get our heads down and start writing this.

Betsy Sodaro [00:24:30] I mean, here we go.

Ashley Ray [00:24:31] Because Peacock’s going to want this.

Mano Agapion [00:24:34] I would say Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorites. I almost wonder if there’s a creature from his worlds that could have its own TV show.

Betsy Sodaro [00:24:42] Dude, The Orphanage–I mean, that movie… I would never… But I am going to say it. That could be a really great, creepy show.

Mano Agapion [00:24:55] That could be cool. What if they were like…? I’m just going to pitch. It’s, like, the descendants of the orphans or something. It’s like, “We’re all adults, and we think we’re fine. But it turns out, we’re all descendants of these orphans.”

Ashley Ray [00:25:09] That’s really good.

Mano Agapion [00:25:13] I have to say, Servant is a terrible TV show. No one should watch it.

Betsy Sodaro [00:25:16] Oh, yeah? Did you watch that, Ashley?

Ashley Ray [00:25:17] I don’t even know what that is.

Betsy Sodaro [00:25:18] Apple TV?

Ashley Ray [00:25:20] Oh, right. Okay. Yeah, I get very behind on the Apple TV shows. I just started the new season of The Morning Show. And it makes no sense to me, but I’m watching it. 

Mano Agapion [00:25:36] It feels like an alternate reality where it’s like, “Watch Earth’s best actors perform the craziest script ever.”

Ashley Ray [00:25:43] Truly. We’re sending Reese Witherspoon to space for some reason?

Mano Agapion [00:25:48] I’m kind of obsessed.

Betsy Sodaro [00:25:49] Maybe I should just start this season.

Ashley Ray [00:25:51] You should. There’s no reason to watch the previous seasons. I don’t even remember what happened in the previous seasons. I just jumped in and was like, “Okay, cool. Jon Hamm is here now. Let’s do this. I don’t know.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:26:02] Yes. Okay.

Mano Agapion [00:26:04] 100%. Don’t watch Servant.

Ashley Ray [00:26:09] It’s an M. Night–? I didn’t even know M. Night had an Apple TV show.

Betsy Sodaro [00:26:13] Yep. He does.

Ashley Ray [00:26:15] What is it about? A scary servant who–twist–isn’t a servant?

Mano Agapion [00:26:20] Great premise.

Betsy Sodaro [00:26:21] Kind of. Or, like… Go ahead, Mano.

Mano Agapion [00:26:24] Great premise that also I think, like… I think it’s kind of been confirmed that he kind of stole the idea from a successful short film.

Betsy Sodaro [00:26:34] Oh yeah. That came out when the first season came out. I remember looking it up.

Mano Agapion [00:26:38] Yes. All you get to know in the pilot is this couple who lives in Washington, D.C. or something–they have a little doll baby that they treat very much like a real baby. They’re having a hard time getting a nanny until one girl comes in who seems to completely get why they’re doing this. And she agrees to take care of this doll as if it’s a real baby. And other spooky things happen.

Ashley Ray [00:27:06] Okay.

Mano Agapion [00:27:08] It’s really spooky.

Betsy Sodaro [00:27:10] Should we blow it? Should we spoil it?

Ashley Ray [00:27:16] I mean, why would you pay money for a nanny for a doll?

Mano Agapion [00:27:18] I know.

Ashley Ray [00:27:21] How much income do you have. Of course, I’ll take that job. “Watch a doll all day? Okay.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:27:28] “All right. Cool.”

Ashley Ray [00:27:29] I kind of want this spoiler because I’m never going to watch this.

Betsy Sodaro [00:27:33] It’s been out for a while.

Mano Agapion [00:27:34] Spoil it, Betsy.

Betsy Sodaro [00:27:37] We learned that the mom cooked her baby in the car.

Mano Agapion [00:27:43] And then she, like, had a dissociative episode where she just left her baby in a car and cooked it. And so now she just, like, can’t even confront the reality that it’s gone.

Ashley Ray [00:27:52] The baby is gone. So, the doll…

Betsy Sodaro [00:27:55] And then the nanny is from, like, a cult or something. I never watched Season Two.

Mano Agapion [00:28:01] And then they overcomplicate it, and there’s, like a secret cult. And again, it’s like Asylum. It ends with 18 questions, and you’re like, “Fuck you. I’m not watching Season Two.”

Ashley Ray [00:28:11] It’s just aliens.

Betsy Sodaro [00:28:11] Yeah. Where it was just like, “What?”

Ashley Ray [00:28:16] Well, I did watch a really good documentary recently about parents who cooked their babies in a car.

Betsy Sodaro [00:28:22] Wait. What?

Ashley Ray [00:28:23] Yeah, there’s a whole documentary about this. It apparently has happened so many times.

Mano Agapion [00:28:28] Isn’t there a grandma who’s done it twice? I’m not even kidding.

Ashley Ray [00:28:32] Yes. There was a grandma who did it twice. What?

Betsy Sodaro [00:28:36] What’s this documentary called. I gotta watch it.

Mano Agapion [00:28:39] Is it called Over Easy? I’m sorry.

Betsy Sodaro [00:28:45] Mano. Keep going, Mano. Keep going.

Mano Agapion [00:28:47] Scrambled or Over Easy?

Ashley Ray [00:28:51] I think it’s called, like, Death of a Child. There’s one that’s, like, Death of a Child. And then there’s one that’s called, like, Stop all the Clocks. That one is on Prime Video, and it’s about a mom. The other one is about this couple that adopted a kid from Russia, left him in the car, and then Russia was like, “You guys do not take care of adoptees from this country. We’re not letting Americans adopt any more from here because of this couple.” And they were like, “No, don’t ruin it for everybody just because of us.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:29:20] Wow.

Ashley Ray [00:29:21] And actually, there are three documentaries on this. And there’s another one called Fatal Distraction. And that one is about the father. And they talk about that grandma who had it happen twice.

Betsy Sodaro [00:29:32] Did you watch The Mysterious Case of Natalia Grace?

Ashley Ray [00:29:35] Yes! We had a whole episode. We had the woman who was the legal expert on the documentary come on the podcast.

Betsy Sodaro [00:29:47] She rules! She had a bunch of, like, true crime shows that she’s just like, “Here, let me tell you what’s going on.” It’s like, “I believe you out of everybody.”

Ashley Ray [00:29:55] And she came on. It was just like, “And when I got to the bottom of her birth certificate and when I found this…” Okay, do you know they did The Curious Case of Natalia Grace–? And then remember when they put out previews that were like, “before the end of the summer, Natalia Speaks Part Two”?

Mano Agapion [00:30:10] Right.

Ashley Ray [00:30:11] Where is it? Where is it?

Betsy Sodaro [00:30:14] I feel with a couple of episodes left, I was like, “I want to hear from Natalia.”

Ashley Ray [00:30:20] And it ends with this shocking accusation of the adopted father, like, abusing her and stuff.

Mano Agapion [00:30:28] That father was a piece of shit.

Betsy Sodaro [00:30:30] That man is so scary.

Ashley Ray [00:30:32] So scary.

Mano Agapion [00:30:34] I also started The Changeling, which is on Apple TV+.

Ashley Ray [00:30:39] That’s with LaKeith Stanfield thing.

Mano Agapion [00:30:43] I’m not going to lie and say, like, it’s immediately good. But I’m on Episode Two, and I’m still curious because it’s stunningly shot, and the actors are good.

Betsy Sodaro [00:30:54] Is it based off of the book?

Ashley Ray [00:30:56] That’s what I was wondering.

Betsy Sodaro [00:30:58] That book ruled. I love that book.

Mano Agapion [00:31:02] Yeah, it’s loose. It’s a loose retelling and a reinspiration. I will say also, because horror is so goddamn white, it’s cool to see any piece of horror that has Black actors and people of color in it.

Betsy Sodaro [00:31:15] Right.

Mano Agapion [00:31:17] That’s a win. So, I’m going to keep going.

Ashley Ray [00:31:20] Okay. I love LaKeith. I was thinking about it for him. I just m always late on the Apple TV stuff because their shows don’t seem like real shows.

Betsy Sodaro [00:31:29] I do a lot of, “Okay, we’re getting it for a month. Let’s blast through Severance and see what else is on and then be done for a little bit.”

Ashley Ray [00:31:40] “Let’s watch Hijack.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:31:42] “I got a new pair of headphones, and I have a month free.”

Ashley Ray [00:31:46] Love that.

Betsy Sodaro [00:31:48] Was Hijack fun?

Ashley Ray [00:31:49] It was really fun. It was one of those things where I was like, “Oh, that could have been a movie, and it would have been great. I don’t know why you make this an eight-episode TV show.” But it was fun. I mean, you just get to see Idris Elba be like, “I’m such a good negotiator. I can stop a hijacking.”

Mano Agapion [00:32:06] So it starts and ends as a limited series?

Ashley Ray [00:32:09] Yes. I mean, there’s been talk of a second season, but I genuinely don’t know what they would do because it all pretty much comes to a neat conclusion and could have been an hour and a half movie. Yeah, it’s okay. And I watched it all in a night and was like, “Okay, this is exciting.” But I’ve been keeping Apple TV recently for Physical. It’s in its third season, and I think I may be the only person who watches it. With Rose Byrne.

Betsy Sodaro [00:32:46] She rules. Everything she’s in–she’s so good.

Ashley Ray [00:32:50] But the person really stealing the show is Rory Scovel. He plays the husband in it.

Mano Agapion [00:32:56] Really?

Betsy Sodaro [00:32:57] Cool!

Ashley Ray [00:32:57] And I know him from stand-up and stuff, and I’m like, “You’re so funny.” And then I watch this, and I’m like, “This boy is an actor. This boy is really pulling the emotional weight of it.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:33:04] Awesome.

Mano Agapion [00:33:07] That’s cool.

Ashley Ray [00:33:08] I guess this is the final season. It’s ending. And I just kind of watch every episode, and I’m like, “Who made this? How did this get made?” It’s really good and weird.

Mano Agapion [00:33:19] Okay. And you were talking about even harder than Apple TV. There’s a show called From that’s on, like, MGM+.

Betsy Sodaro [00:33:28] Mano, you sound crazy.

Ashley Ray [00:33:31] I don’t think that’s a real thing.

Betsy Sodaro [00:33:32] Yeah, you’re full of it, man.

Ashley Ray [00:33:35] I also watch it on the EPIX app, though.

Mano Agapion [00:33:39] I’m sure it’s somewhere else.

Betsy Sodaro [00:33:42] Wait, how are you watching it, Mano?

Mano Agapion [00:33:44] I haven’t watched it, but I want to watch it because I’ve heard it has positive reviews and people say it’s good. But again, how are we going to watch it? It’s on MGM_.

Ashley Ray [00:33:51] What is that? You’re lying to me.

Mano Agapion [00:33:53] I don’t know.

Ashley Ray [00:33:55] That’s like with Harold Perrineau in it, I think, right?

Mano Agapion [00:33:59] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes.

Ashley Ray [00:34:01] And I have heard good things. And I know it got renewed and everyone was just like, “Renewed? Where? What is this?” Every day I deal with this difficulty of just… Most recently it was the 90 Day UK Tell All. If you watch 90 Day UK, you know that it is only available in the Discovery+ or the Max app. They don’t show it on TLC, so you can’t watch it on Hulu. But then the Tell All for some reason was only available on Amazon Prime Video with Max, but you couldn’t watch it in Max. And so, I made a stupid trial just to watch it.

Mano Agapion [00:34:39] That’s insane.

Ashley Ray [00:34:40] Absolutely worth it.

Betsy Sodaro [00:34:47] Wait, Max through Amazon Prime?

Ashley Ray [00:34:50] Yes! It’s a totally separate thing. It’s like, “Oh, if you just want to watch Max in your Amazon app, you have to, like, sign up this way.” The studios don’t know what they’re doing.

Mano Agapion [00:34:58] This has to end. And they’re scaring me because did you see they just unified to make a unified lobbying front? That is scary.

Betsy Sodaro [00:35:09] Oh no. Didn’t they learn a lesson? Of course, they did not.

Ashley Ray [00:35:17] They’re just like, “We just need to be stronger as streaming platforms who have no idea what they’re doing and our bubble is bursting and we don’t want to share our numbers because if we did, they’d be really bad.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:35:28] Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Ashley Ray [00:35:33] But I do want to see the numbers because sometimes I really want to be like, “I knew I was the only person who watched that. I knew it was me and my mom. We were the only people watching Glamorous on Netflix, which was a really, really good show. Really fun.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:35:47] With Kim Cattrall, right?

Ashley Ray [00:35:51] Yes, it is basically her And Just Like That. I imagine it as, like, this is Samantha. And then I watch from that perspective, and it’s a great show.

Betsy Sodaro [00:35:58] Whoa. That’s fun.

Mano Agapion [00:36:00] Speaking of, I mean, if they’re going to make a spinoff, why don’t they just make a Samantha spinoff?

Ashley Ray [00:36:07] She doesn’t need to be with the other girls if she hates the other girls. But, like, we want Samantha. I bet they give Che Diaz a spinoff next.

Mano Agapion [00:36:17] No!

Betsy Sodaro [00:36:18] I’m driving my car off a bridge. If that happens, I’m out of here.

Ashley Ray [00:36:23] I am a Che Diaz defender.

Mano Agapion [00:36:25] Really? Tell me more.

Betsy Sodaro [00:36:26] What?

Ashley Ray [00:36:27] There is something Che brings to the show.

Betsy Sodaro [00:36:29] Their stand-up? Their stand-up’s so funny?

Mano Agapion [00:36:32] You mean “comedy concert.”

Ashley Ray [00:36:33] I’m sorry. Their comedy concerts are so good. And when I saw them at the Comedy Store, I knew this was a star. There is just something so unhinged that Che brings to this show that to fully understand it, you just need to understand the character Che. And then it’s like, “Oh, this is the tone of the show.” It makes no sense. It wants to be radical and new and coming with all these new politics. But at the same time, no one has any idea how to actually do that.

Betsy Sodaro [00:37:03] Right.

Mano Agapion [00:37:04] My main thing with And Just Like That is in Sex and the City, Sex and the City was a show about dreamers. And And Just Like That is a show about people who got their dream and hate it. And that’s why I’ll never get it.

Betsy Sodaro [00:37:25] Right.

Ashley Ray [00:37:26] Yeah. That is a really good way to put it because you just watch and you’re like… All of a sudden, Carrie was like, “Was Big a mistake? Did I just wait 20 years of my life?”

Mano Agapion [00:37:36] And everyone is just like, “Oh, this is fucking stupid. I hate this fucking mansion. No one came to our 30-person dinner that cost $2,000.”

Ashley Ray [00:37:50] “Yeah, because my husband sent the invitations late.” And I’m just like, “I’m pretty sure if you just sent some texts out, some people would come over for, like, a 30-course meal.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:38:00] Absolutely. Like, “You all hang out all the time anyways.” What’s going on? Oh, it’s very bad.

Ashley Ray [00:38:08] But I want ten seasons, and I will never stop watching it.

Betsy Sodaro [00:38:10] Yes, because it is so just like, “This is nuts!” I love it.

Mano Agapion [00:38:14] It’s very fun to watch.

Ashley Ray [00:38:33] From each of you, I do want to hear another show on your watchlist because I want to share. So, what else? Okay. It doesn’t have to be horror.

Betsy Sodaro [00:38:41] This is a horror. I started it. I’m, I think, a little over halfway through it. It’s on Netflix, and it’s called Marianne. And it’s French. And it is scary, dude.

Ashley Ray [00:38:56] Okay.

Betsy Sodaro [00:38:57] Yeah. Yeah.

Ashley Ray [00:38:59] I feel like Netflix does a lot of horror stuff that I don’t really notice. And then someone will be like, “No, you gotta watch this one scary one.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:39:06] Right. It’s, like, apparently one season, and it came out, you know, in 2019 or something. But a couple of people are like, “I think you should watch.” And I started, and it’s awesome. It’s spooky.

Ashley Ray [00:39:20] French people are good at being scary.

Betsy Sodaro [00:39:22] And it’s set in this French town that is so scary. All their houses are old. Like, they all look like the Haunted Mansion ride. It’s cool. And, like, legit scares.

Ashley Ray [00:39:42] The synopsis is: “Lured back to her hometown, a famous horror writer discovers that the evil spirit who plagues her dreams is now wreaking havoc in the real world.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:39:51] Yes. Yes. And there’s some really gory moments, but not to the point where you’re like… Or for me because I don’t do very well with, like, real life gore feeling. But this one you’re, like, more intrigued than grossed out. I highly recommend.

Ashley Ray [00:40:11] Okay. Yeah. I love Netflix horror. They had one that, like… Oh my God. I can’t remember it, but it was something where there was this surgery where you could, like, transplant someone else’s eyes into someone else and they could take over their body. And there’s this guy who’s, like, obsessed with this other guy and, like, keeps trying to take over the body of his girlfriends and lovers. It is so good. That one was really scary.

Betsy Sodaro [00:40:40] That sounds fun! Behind Her Eyes.

Ashley Ray [00:40:42] Yes, Behind Her Eyes. That’s what it was.

Betsy Sodaro [00:40:44] Oh, okay. Ooh. And it’s British.

Ashley Ray [00:40:48] Yeah. It’s a good one.

Betsy Sodaro [00:40:54] I want to watch that for sure.

Ashley Ray [00:40:56] Yeah. That one is worth it.

Mano Agapion [00:40:59] I haven’t watched it yet, but I want to watch The Fall of the House of Usher. I don’t think it’s out yet.

Betsy Sodaro [00:41:03] I am so stoked for that.

Ashley Ray [00:41:05] Yeah.

Mano Agapion [00:41:06] It’s already getting good reviews. And I’m a little unclear– I guess I don’t want to know. But I’m also curious because, like, I think it’s, like, connected in the universe of those…

Betsy Sodaro [00:41:15] Of, like, Midnight Mass and House on Haunted Hill or whatever.

Mano Agapion [00:41:23] Yeah. I can’t tell if it just, like, has a lot of similar actors or if they’re connected.

Betsy Sodaro [00:41:28] I think he’s using all the same actors, but I could see them being like, “Let’s meld it.” I’m pumped for that.

Ashley Ray [00:41:34] Yeah. Okay, I’m reading now. And, I mean, I just assumed it was just based off of the Edgar Allan Poe story

Betsy Sodaro [00:41:43] I totally did, too.

Ashley Ray [00:41:45] I was like, “Oh, I guess they’re making a movie version of that.” And then reading it, it’s like, “Siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built a pharmaceutical company”? That’s not Edgar Allan Poe.

Mano Agapion [00:41:56] I bet there’s some nods to Poe Yeah.

Ashley Ray [00:42:01] “Secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:42:05] Because House on Haunted Hill was pretty close to the book and, so…

Ashley Ray [00:42:16] I mean, my English teachers made me read the fall of the house last year so many times. S

Betsy Sodaro [00:42:20] So many times?

Ashley Ray [00:42:22] So many times. I had to probably write, like, three essays on that goddamn story.

Betsy Sodaro [00:42:27] Mine was Hamlet. Hamlet was one that just constantly kept popping up in my life.

Ashley Ray [00:42:35] Yeah.

Betsy Sodaro [00:42:37] And it’s just like, “I don’t fucking care, man.”

Ashley Ray [00:42:41] “I don’t know why I’m supposed to think Edgar Allan Poe is so cool.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:42:45] “Let me read something fun.”

Mano Agapion [00:42:48] Mine was Wuthering Heights–the one that appeared too much.

Betsy Sodaro [00:42:54] Did you have to read Watership Down–the rabbit story?

Ashley Ray [00:43:00] No.

Betsy Sodaro [00:43:01] I hated it. Yeah, I hated it because it’s about, like, a rabbit society, you know, and probably mirrors…

Ashley Ray [00:43:11] Our society.

Betsy Sodaro [00:43:12] I remember hating it so much. And it was one that I had to read for, like, honors English over the summer, where I was like, “This summer is my time to read fun shit, and now I have to read about these, like, fucking rabbits that are killing each other.” Oh, it sucked.

Ashley Ray [00:43:32] I’ll be real. I never did my summer reading. I never did. I would just be like, “That’s not a fair thing to make me do.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:43:40] Oh, God, that’s cool. I should have done that. Let me read other fun books.

Ashley Ray [00:43:47] But then I was always the kid in class with my hand up, like, “I think the author was doing this.” And my friends would just be like, “You bitch. You didn’t read it.”

Mano Agapion [00:43:54] Absolutely. I did the same thing. I still have a key memory of doing that book report in fourth grade where it was like, “Just describe all seven of the characters.” And like a fucking New York Times horoscope, I was like, “They’re really selfish, but also really giving. And they’re really sweet, but they have a mean side.” I just played the odds on every character.

Ashley Ray [00:44:19] And the teacher’s like, “Where in the text did you see that?” And I was just like, “I think it was in the subtext really.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:44:25] I definitely went through a big phase–and this was through college, too–where I was like, “What if the author wasn’t trying to do symbolism and they just wanted to write about a big whale and a dude going after it?” Like, I went through such a big, like, “I don’t give a shit about symbolism. Can we just read it for what it is and be done with this shit?” Aren’t you so happy we don’t have to be in school?

Ashley Ray [00:44:56] Yes. All the time. All the time.

Betsy Sodaro [00:44:57] I think about it a lot.

Ashley Ray [00:44:59] Except when writers are like, “You know, you should be reading, like, old stuff to inspire you.” And I’m like, “No. I watch And Just Like That. And that inspires me to live my life and do everything, okay?”

Mano Agapion [00:45:12] I do get mad being like, “I wish someone was like, ‘You can just spend more time doing the thing you really want to do?’” And I was like, “What? So, like, I’ve just spent 18 years doing all this other bullshit. And then when I get to college, I can’t even do it in college. When I get to college, I still have to do some stupid general ed bullshit. And then if I find time with my remaining 1.75 years, then I can start to learn about what I want to do? Cool. Awesome. Sucks.” I’m so ticked.

Ashley Ray [00:45:47] Me too. Me too.

Betsy Sodaro [00:45:54] I’m so ticked. I’m so PO’d. Remember “PO’d?” Let’s bring it back. “Oh, I’m so PO’d right now!”

Mano Agapion [00:46:00] “I could cook a baby, I’m so mad!”

Ashley Ray [00:46:04] “I’ll leave babies in cars all over town!” On my watchlist–and this is for you, Betsy–I was obsessed with the show, Duncanville. I was so obsessed with it that when they announced it was being canceled, I saved the last three episodes because I was like, “I don’t want this to end. I’m going to save the last three episodes until I have, like, a nice night to myself and that’ll be my little treat.” So, in honor of you, this weekend, I truly am ordering my pizza, I’m getting my milkshakes, I have my treats I enjoy, and I’m finally watching the last three episodes.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:46:46] Oh, yay! Thank you. That’s so nice. I loved that show.

Ashley Ray [00:46:51] It was so good. I absolutely loved it. And the animation lineup with Bob’s Burgers and everything and The Great North. And I truly thought it would last for a long time.

Betsy Sodaro [00:47:04] Thank you.

Ashley Ray [00:47:04] You got three seasons, right? I was like, “Okay, that’s pretty incredible.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:47:11] Right. I was blown away. I was like, “Whoa!” It was the first show that I’ve been on that that’s ever happened. “Cool, man!”

Ashley Ray [00:47:19] And that’s, I think, why I was so shocked it ended. I was like, “No, I have these episodes. Like, what do you mean it’s not coming back? I just assumed…”

Betsy Sodaro [00:47:26] Oh, that means so much. Thank you so much. I loved that show. I was so stoked to be a part of it. I just even remember reading the pilot before going out for the role of Bex, just being like, “Wait, I really like this.” Immediately feeling that warmth of, like, The Simpsons or a Bob’s Burgers. Immediately being like, “Oh, I’m already into this family. I love this world.”

Ashley Ray [00:47:58] One of my favorite mom dad pairings where they’re just, like, horny for each other and just very funny and truly parents.

Betsy Sodaro [00:48:09] They just love each other for what they do, where they’re just like, “Yep! That’s kooky! But I love him for it.” It’s so delightful.

Ashley Ray [00:48:19] Delightful. I am like a one-woman campaign to make it a cult status because I just am always telling people, “If you like animation, you should have checked out Duncanville.” I think it’s on Hulu.

Mano Agapion [00:48:29] Yes. Yeah.

Betsy Sodaro [00:48:31] I think it’s still on Hulu. Yeah. Yeah.

Ashley Ray [00:48:32] And now they replaced it with Housebroken, which I am the only person watching.

Betsy Sodaro [00:48:38] Yeah. I gotta watch that. I gotta watch that. Mano is on it!

Mano Agapion [00:48:44] I do a couple voices on it. So yeah! Watch that!

Ashley Ray [00:48:50] I had someone on, and I was talking about it. And they were like, “Do you really, like, watch that show and like it?” And I was like, “Yeah, it’s really funny.”

Mano Agapion [00:48:57] It’s fucking Lisa Kudrow, baby!

Ashley Ray [00:48:59] The voice acting on it is so great. And people are like, “Aren’t they just playing animals?” And I’m like, “Yes. Maria Bamford playing a sad horny turtle. What else do you want?”

Betsy Sodaro [00:49:09] That’s what cartoons are all about.

Mano Agapion [00:49:13] Mantzoukas playing a dirty damn dog. What more do you want? Or a cat?

Ashley Ray [00:49:20] Yes, he plays the cat. He’s a filthy cat. Y

Mano Agapion [00:49:24] And shoutout to the writers on Duncanville because we have fun UCB friend writers on it. We’re not only amazing writers, but also, like, fighting for better wages for animation writers–truly across the Writers Guild. So, I know there’s many of them, but shoutout to our friends Nick Mandernach and Anthony Gioe, who are literally campaigning so that animation writers don’t have to just rely on some of the smaller wages that animation guilds and animation writers have to rely on when they’re doing just as much work, if not more.

Ashley Ray [00:50:00] If not more. And I say that as a member of the Animation Guild. You know, it is a dumb distinction that we aren’t in WGA when we’re writing all episodes and entire seasons. And it’s just as much work–again, if not more. You have to think in, like, 4D and, like, “What’s a funny thing we can put in the background here? What’s a funny noise that someone can make?” But, hey, you know, maybe I’m biased. I am.

Betsy Sodaro [00:50:29] It’s really wild. It’s got to change.

Ashley Ray [00:50:32] Yes. Yes. And that’s what we’re working on doing. We have come to the end here. So, you know, every week we’ve been doing this message where we’re like, “Go help everybody on strike.” And we did it. We did it, WGA.

Mano Agapion [00:50:49] We did it!

Ashley Ray [00:50:52] We got a deal. And it’s absolutely amazing. But guess what? SAG–our buddies over at SAG-AFTRA–they’re still on strike. They are still on the picket lines. If you want to support the actors, you can join them in LA or New York on the picket line. Their hours are different from the WGA hours. They, I believe, go from, like, 10:00 to 12:00. So double check if you want to join us on the picket line. Actors–they can’t be out too long. I get it.

Betsy Sodaro [00:51:19] Oh, yeah. No, the sun will not get them roles.

Ashley Ray [00:51:25] The wrinkles. They have to be very careful.

Betsy Sodaro [00:51:30] Once you get wrinkles, you’re done for.

Ashley Ray [00:51:32] You’re done for in this town. So, for the actor strikes, the picket lines are different hours. But you can still join them. You can drop off food or water. And if you want, you can still donate money to the Entertainment Community Fund, which helps non-actor Hollywood crew members who suffer hardships due to the strike. This money also goes to writers who were impacted by the strike and still are not employed. So, a lot of writers obviously aren’t getting back to work immediately and are still going to need support. So, donate. And you can do that at entertainmentcommunity.org. And make sure to direct your gift to the Film and Television category when asked.

Betsy Sodaro [00:52:08] Yeah!

Ashley Ray [00:52:10] Mano and Betsy, thank you so much for joining me. Any plugs? Where can people follow you? Any final thoughts?

Mano Agapion [00:52:16] Well, yeah, listen to our podcast 2 Spooky 2 Handle.

Ashley Ray [00:52:21] Star-studded cast.

Betsy Sodaro [00:52:24] Star-studded! Some of the scariest movies you will ever listen to.

Mano Agapion [00:52:29] Yes. And whether you’re laughing or you’re terrified, you will shit your pants. So go listen to 2 Spooky 2 Handle. It’s part of Earwolf Presents anywhere you get your podcasts. It’s free. It’s very free.

Betsy Sodaro [00:52:42] It’s free!

Mano Agapion [00:52:44] It’s very free. Promise me you’ll go subscribe.

Ashley Ray [00:52:47] All these spooks for free?

Betsy Sodaro [00:52:48] Yeah! Can you believe it?

Mano Agapion [00:52:51] I know! No thanks, Universal Studios. I’ll get my spookies for free at Earwolf Presents.

Betsy Sodaro [00:52:57] Yeah. Bring them down. Bring Universal Studios Horror Nights down.

Mano Agapion [00:53:02] And follow me @manoagapion on social stuff.

Betsy Sodaro [00:53:06] And I’m @betsysodaro.

Ashley Ray [00:53:09] Yes. And go watch all of the amazing things they’re in. And start with Duncanville and Housebroken. Watch both of those shows because I love them.

Mano Agapion [00:53:15] Watch them. Why not?

Ashley Ray [00:53:17] Thank you so much for joining me.

Betsy Sodaro [00:53:20] Thank you!

Mano Agapion [00:53:22] Thanks for having us!

Betsy Sodaro [00:53:23] We could talk about TV all day long. I kind of do.

Mano Agapion [00:53:27] Yeah, I certainly do.

Ashley Ray [00:53:31] I watch too much television. And also, listeners, this is where I’m going to give you your homework for next week–what you need to be caught up on–what you need to be watching. I’m going to need you to watch The Golden Bachelor, the new Survivor…

Mano Agapion [00:53:44] Oh shit.

Betsy Sodaro [00:53:46] And new Survivor? Does that start this week? Tonight?

Ashley Ray [00:53:52] We’re in the future, but yes. Yeah–that, The Golden Bachelor, Below Deck Mediterranean… And a drama has come out about our girl Captain Sandy. So, we’re back on that one.

Betsy Sodaro [00:54:08] I can’t wait.

Ashley Ray [00:54:08] I need you watching

Betsy Sodaro [00:54:09] Are you watching Down Under?

Ashley Ray [00:54:12] Yes.

Betsy Sodaro [00:54:13] I am, like, a couple episodes behind.

Ashley Ray [00:54:15] That was the best season of Below Deck Down Under we’ve ever had. I need a Tell All. I don’t know who makes those decisions.

Betsy Sodaro [00:54:21] Yeah.

Ashley Ray [00:54:22] But, gee, I need a Tell All. And then we also have… Within the 90 Day universe, you guys, Before the 90 Days has just come to an end. 90 Day: The Other Way is still running. And then most importantly, we have the 10th season of main 90 Day–the original–coming out with its 10th season. And this week I was invited to the 90 Day Fiancé 10th Anniversary party. I got to go last night. I got to meet Big Ed. I got to meet Jasmine and Gina. I got to meet Yara and Jovi.

Mano Agapion [00:54:55] Wow.

Ashley Ray [00:54:56] It’s a whole thing that I am just going to have to dedicate time to talking about. But catch up on 90 Day Fiancé because I have so much to share.

Betsy Sodaro [00:55:03] Wow.

Mano Agapion [00:55:04] Also go watch Drag Race UK.

Ashley Ray [00:55:06] Yes, Drag Race UK. Oh, one of the Drag Race judges was at the 90 Day thing last night and everyone was like, “Why is he here?” He’s like, “No, I’m just a really big 90 Day Fiancé fan.”

Betsy Sodaro [00:55:17] That rules. Might as well.

Ashley Ray [00:55:20] Yeah, if you got that sway, like, I would be using it to meet people from 90 Day Fiancé all the time.

Mano Agapion [00:55:23] Hell yeah.

Betsy Sodaro [00:55:24] Yes! You gotta!

Ashley Ray [00:55:28] So Mano and Betsy, thank you so much for joining TV Club. And we’ll be back next week with another episode. TV, I Say with Ashley Ray is an Earwolf production made by me, Ashley Ray-Harris. It’s engineered by Abby Aguilar, produced by Anita Flores, executive produced by Amelia Chappelow. And our original theme song is by RaFia. It means so much to me if you go rate, review, subscribe. Follow TV, I Say. Let us know what you think and tell your friends. Share with your Golden Girls. Tell your Boys. If you love my TV recommendations, let everyone you know. For special TV Club members, join my Patreon.